In practice, two basic groups of reels are used on a cutting device for a harvester. One type is a simple paddle reel that only guides the harvested goods to the machine with tine-less paddle bars, in general a cutting device. A second type has tine reels with paddle tubes or paddle bars and additional steel or plastic tines mounted to the reels.
The tine reel has established itself in combine harvesters, compared to the simple paddle reel. Tine reels can securely process laid grain or vortexed harvested goods. In a simple reel, the paddle bars are rigidly mounted on radial support stars. The stars are attached to a center axis that is rotatably supported on side beams above the cutting bar or picking-up bar of a harvester, in a known manner. In contrast, the bars or tubes equipped with tines, as a tine carrier, have to be rotatably supported on the radial support stars. Thus, it is desirable to achieve a state where the tines always operate approximately vertical to the ground. In most cases, for this, a control star is used. This control star is arranged radially eccentrically to the axis. It is also eccentrically to the support stars. The control star is provided in its center with a circular control path where one or several guide rollers can roll. The guide rollers are supported with a corresponding connection mechanism on the side beams. The tine carriers are provided at the ends with small crank levers. The crank lever's crank lugs are respectively rotatably supported on the control star. The control star rotates, in this case, in the same direction and with the same number of revolutions as the retaining star. As the control star rotates eccentrically relative to the retaining stars, the crank ends of the tine carrier bars or the tine carrier tubes are rotated once with each reel revolution. Thus, the tines are always directed in the same direction. In most cases, the tines are directed straight downwards. Such reel controls are known for example from DE 100 29 372 C2.
The tine carriers are, in this case, rotatably supported on the support elements via bearing arrangements. Since harvesters are also used on hilly ground, the tine carriers have to be supported, when they are located on a side slope, axially in direction of the rotational axes on the support elements.
To accomplish this, rings are pushed onto the tine carrier. Two rings are fixed at both sides of a bearing arrangement to support a tine carrier. Thus, the tine carrier can be supported, via the rings, axially on the bearing arrangement. From DD 60 171, a bearing arrangement is shown where the tine carrier is rotatably arranged between a bearing half and bearing bracket. The bearing half is connected to a reel arm. The bearing bracket is also connected to the reel arm. The bearing half has a groove that extends partially around the rotational axis of the tine carrier. The bearing bracket has an opening, in the form of a slot, that also extends partially around the rotational axis. A ring is press-fit or shrink-fit onto the tine carrier so that it is fixed onto the tine carrier. The ring engages the groove of the bearing half and the opening of the bearing bracket. The ring is rotatably and axially supported on the tine carrier.
A disadvantage of the bearing arrangements is that the rings have to be pushed onto the tine carrier to areas of the bearing arrangements before the assembly of the tines. This leads to a time consuming assembly and makes the exchange of the rings, due to wear, very cumbersome.